This Needs to be Dealt With
"This Needs to be Dealt With" is a oneshot series written on December 27, 2015. It takes place right after "Is This Over?" and before "Seasick and Grey's Argument." Summary Full Text Part 1 Sven wasn’t really paying attention to anything going on around him. It was hard to see anything with the pain from the spine in his arm surging through his body on top of the pain of his broken heart. He tried to concentrate on the voices around him…his mother…his father…his sisters…Phelma…a few villagers…his uncle Greg and aunts Warren and Asha…was that Lila and Siri too?…and the twins… It was all well and good to hear all his loved ones and a few villagers gathered around him…worried about him, especially his parents and sisters, but…there was one voice he was aching to hear. Saeros… No matter how hard he tried, he just could not hear the voice of his girlfriend…or ex-girlfriend. He wasn’t sure what was going on now. He could’ve sworn that he heard a dragon flying away. Was that WhiteHeart? Did Saeros actually leave? She wouldn’t do that, would she? She cared about him. She said she loved him. Surely she would realize what her dragon did and stick around to make sure that he was okay. True, she called the attack…at least that was what he remembered, but…she wouldn’t intentionally hurt him and then just leave…right? “Here, Sven, sit down here,” Grey said as she and Brandt guided their eldest son upstairs to his own bed. “Where’s that healer?!” “He’s coming, Mom!” Dagny said as she and Kari ran upstairs with Phelma right behind them. “Mr. Hofferson is bringing him over right now!” Kari added. “Should we get Grandma too?” “No,” the Chief quickly said as she pulled up a chair next to Sven to let her baby son rest against her, “let your grandmother rest. She doesn’t need any more on her plate right now.” “How can I help, Chief?” Phelma asked as she ran over to Sven. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough already?” Dagny asked the girl angrily. “Yeah!” Kari added standing next to her older sister glaring at Sven’s new friend. Phelma stared at the daughters of the Chief in absolute shock. Did Sven and his family hold her personally responsible for something that Saeros did to him? True, she was the reason Saeros started acting irrationally and wanted to break up with Sven, but…how could they blame her for how Saeros reacted? If Sven’s sisters truly felt this way, then there was no telling how his parents, especially the Chief herself felt about her now. “Girls, leave Phelma alone,” Brandt said sitting next to his son. “She is not to blame for this incident.” “But–” Dagny and Kari protested in unison turning to their father. “Dad is right,” Grey quickly agreed as she ran a hand through her son’s damp hair. “Phelma is not to blame for this. That matter will need to be dealt with later.” Both Sven’s sisters were about to protest again when the healer Folke and the elder came rushing up the stairs. “At your service, Chief Grey,” Folke said as he joined the Chief, her husband, and her son and began to inspect the wounded Heir. “Asmund Hofferson has filled me in. Have you tried to remove the spine yet?” “No, I’m afraid not,” the Chief replied sadly. “I was afraid of him bleeding out if I tried.” “Well, that’s good,” the healer said as he inspected the boy’s arm. “Hopefully the wound was given enough time to dry. That will allow us to remove the spine without hurting him too much. Now, let’s get to work.” About an hour or two has passed since the healer began working on Sven, the healer finally sighed in relief once he finished bandaging up the Chief’s son’s wounded arm. He then turned to the Chief herself and her husband who were standing in the corner of the upstairs bedroom while their daughters waited outside with Phelma. From the silence, the Chief could tell that they weren’t fighting with Sven’s friend, which was good. That was the last thing they needed at the moment. “How is he?” Grey finally asked. “He is alright, Chief,” the healer replied smiling gently. While she was the strong and confident chief of Haligan Island, she was also a mother, who loved her children with all her heart. “I stitched the wound and bandaged it. You will need to change the bandages once a day to avoid infection. I also examined the spike. There are no signs of poison, so this particular Deadly Nadder wasn’t poisonous.” “Well, that’s a relief,” Brandt said giving his wife a reassuring squeeze. “Anything else?” “No, that will be all for now,” Folke said as he stood up. “He’s sleeping right now. He did loose quite a bit of blood, so he will need to rest for a few weeks.” “Alright, thank you very much, Folke,” the Chief said nodding. “I will send for you if we need anything else.” “Always at your service, Chief,” the healer replied. “I will move onto your mother now for her daily check-up.” “Have you had any kind of luck in finding a cure?” “Nothing yet, but fear not. We will find something for her. I’m sure of it.” Grey could only nod as the healer finally left her and her husband alone with their son. She finally sighed as she put her face to her palm. “First my mother,” she said once Folke was out of earshot, “now, my son.” “I know,” Brandt said kissing his wife on the temple, “but don’t worry. Our boy is strong. He’ll pull through.” “He will physically,” Grey replied, “but what’s he going to think once he wakes up and remembers that his own girlfriend did this to him?” Part 2 Chief Grey was thankfully done with her duties for the day, which allowed her to be with her injured son, her husband, and her daughters. Phelma was waiting downstairs keeping herself busy and not wanting to leave Sven until he was awake. Despite what happened, Grey and Brandt were okay with her waiting to see about her good friend. However, both the Chief and her husband knew that their two daughters were not as they were both very protective of their older brother. Grey made a mental note to discuss this with the two of them later. Right now, they needed to focus on being there for Sven, especially after what happened earlier in the day. Her baby boy was attacked by his ex-girlfriend’s Deadly Nadder, and the girl just flew off without so much as making sure he was okay. After what seemed like an eternity of watching Sven’s chest rise and fall, he finally groaned and shifted. Soon enough, his brown eyes slowly opened. “Sven?” Grey asked hopefully. It took a while for Sven to focus, but after blinking a few times, he finally saw his mother staring at him with a worried look on her face. He quickly observed her gray hairs and her faint wrinkles before smiling. “Hey, Mom,” he finally said. Grey smiled as she ran a hand through her son’s hair. She wanted so badly to hug her baby boy really tightly, but she knew she couldn’t without hurting him. This display of affection would have to do for now. She could hug Sven another time. All that was important at the moment was that he was okay. “Welcome back, honey,” she whispered. Brandt chuckled as he ruffled his oldest son’s hair. “How are you feeling, son?” he asked. “Uhh…a little woozy,” the heir replied. He then tried to move his arm only to wince at the sudden burst of pain in his arm. “And…a little sore.” “Well, that’s to be expected after what happened,” Grey said smiling gently at Sven. “The healer said you lost some blood when he pulled the spine out, but you should be fine in a few weeks or so after you get plenty of rest.” “Well, I guess I can deal with that,” the son of the Chief said. It wasn’t ideal to be bed-ridden for a long period of time, but…he wasn’t in the mood to protest against his mother’s wishes. He was then jolted out of his thoughts when he looked from his mother to his father and then finally to his sisters realizing that two people were missing…especially the one person he wanted more than anything to see at the moment. The rest of the family thankfully noticed his slight confusion and furrowed their eyebrows. They all had a feeling regarding what he could possibly ask, but they didn’t show it. It took Kari a lot of courage, but she finally spoke up. “Umm…you okay, big brother?” she asked. “W-Where are…where are Phelma and…and Saeros?” Sven asked. He then turned to Grey. “Where’s Saeros? Is she here?” “Well…Phelma’s downstairs waiting to see how you’re doing,” Dagny said glaring toward the stairs leading to the kitchen on the lower floor. “But…Sven, don’t you remember what happened…with you and Sa-?” “Yes! Yes! I remember what happened! Her dragon attacked me! Now where is she?!” “Hey, hey, Sven, calm down, okay?” Brandt said gently placing a hand on Sven’s shoulder to prevent him from becoming agitated. “You see, uh..Saeros…she uh..” Grey sighed. He asked the question, and he deserved to know the truth. A parent could never lie to their child about something as serious as this. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” the Chief finally said, “but…but Saeros…she-after her dragon attacked you under her orders, she fled the island.” Sven stared at his mother in complete and utter disbelief. He remembered Saeros shouting the order and the spine piercing his arm, but then he also remembered hearing the sound of dragon wings flapping away from the island. “What?” he asked. Did he really hear that right? Or was his mother teasing him like she sometimes did when she wanted to tell him some good news? He tried to search her face for any signs of a joke or a trick, but…he couldn’t find anything of the sort. “N-No, no, come on, Mom, that’s not funny. Where’s Saeros?” “Son, Mom’s telling the truth,” Brandt finally said. “Saeros flew off with her dragon after the Nadder attacked you.” He sighed. “We’re so sorry, Sven.” “But…I-I don’t understand,” Sven protested. “W-Why would she just…leave? I mean…I know she was mad…but…” He finally just exhaled as he plopped back onto the pillow. “I guess it’s really over.” No one said anything. What could they possibly say after what happened? Sven’s girlfriend actually had the nerve to attack him with her own dragon and to flee the scene. Instead, the family just sat in silence with Sven. Grey rubbed his head while Brandt, Dagny, and Kari helped her keep vigil at Sven’s side refusing to leave him for even a second. It took a lot for the Chief of Haligan Island and her husband to finally leave Sven’s side upstairs. It helped only slightly knowing that Dagny and Kari were upstairs with him and Phelma, who was speaking to him before she left. It also helped because Grey needed to see something. She wasn’t sure what made her look. Perhaps, it was the situation that rang a bell. She didn’t know. All she knew was that she distinctly remembered that there was a law regarding how an Heir was to be treated. Hroar once explained to her that this had been a long-standing rule within the Wilderwest created by one of the past Kings of the Wilderwest. She couldn’t remember who though, but that didn’t matter as she scanned the scroll explaining the laws of the WIlderwest region. Soon enough, she found exactly what she was looking for, and she was not happy…at all. “I hate it when I’m right,” she said aloud. Brandt looked up from his paperwork regarding trade negotiations and furrowed his eyebrows at his wife. “What?” he asked. She sighed as she showed Brandt the scroll. “Read this section here,” she simply said. Brandt did as Grey told him and read the text. His hazel eyes widened when he read the one specific rule she pointed out to him. “The Heir is the successor of a chief or monarch and is to be respected as such. Should a person or persons attack the Heir of a tribe or kingdom under any circumstances, he or she is to be punished as a criminal and a traitor of the tribe or kingdom.” The Chief’s husband sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose when he realized what she was implying. “So, our son’s ex-girlfriend is a criminal now?” he asked. “In the eyes of the law, yes,” Grey said as she took the scroll back and read the law again. “Grey, it was a spat…a fight between two kids,” Brandt reasoned. “A fight that ended in our son getting a spine to the arm from Saeros’ dragon after she herself gave the order,” Grey retorted. “Come on, you’ve known those 10 kids for a long time,” Brandt said. “You know they would never intentionally hurt ours. Saeros was simply reacting out of anger.” “I know she was, but, Brandt, this was no accident. She ordered her dragon to shoot that spine at Sven. In a way, she knew what she was doing. Not only that, but she fled the scene, which makes this whole thing worse in more ways than one.” “I understand that, my love, but let’s say that you do enforce this law and demand Saeros be punished. What? Are you actually going to look one of your best friends in the eye and take her daughter away for doing something stupid in a fight?” “Of course not! The law doesn’t state how the criminal is to be punished. The worse that I can do is have Saeros banned from Haligan Island for a while.” “Okay, I guess that could work, but Grey, are you sure you’re not just doing this because you’re angry at what Saeros did to our son?” The Chief had to admit that she was somewhat shocked at her husband’s question, but then again…she would be lying if she said that she wasn’t angry at what Saeros did to Sven. The girl claimed to love him, and then when they were experiencing some problems, she had the nerve to attack him with her own dragon as if he was an enemy. Nevertheless, she was aware of her responsibilities both as a mother and a Chief. “Brandt, I may be a mother, but I’m also the Chief. I have to enforce the law no matter who is affected by it. It’d be no different if someone Thor-forbid attacked Egil under Haddock’s reign, or if…someone attacked Akkey’s child if she was still Chief herself. I can’t just pass this off as a lovers’ spat. The Heir of Haligan Island was attacked, and as the Chief of Haligan Island, I have to protect my successor and punish the one who is responsible.” She sighed. “Hroar and Haddock each once told me that as Chief, I will need to make decisions for all of Haligan Island, and with Sven as the heir, this is one of them.” Brandt nodded in understanding. As much as he hated to admit it, Grey was absolutely right. While Saeros was the daughter of one of her best friends, she technically committed a crime against the Haligan Tribe by attacking their heir. Sometimes, he would admit that he often forgot that Sven didn’t just belong to him and Grey as their eldest son. He also belonged to the entire tribe as their heir…the one who would eventually lead them once his mother stepped down from her position. Of course the tribe would care if the person who was supposed to lead them one day was attacked, especially if their current Chief did nothing about it. Saeros needed to face some consequences for her actions today despite the situation. “Well, I’m with you all the way, Grey,” he said taking her hand into his. “I just hope that…you’re prepared for whatever reaction Seasick is going to have when you explain it to her that her daughter is banned from your island.” “Yeah, me too…this is not going to be pretty.” Category:EU Category:Extended Universe Category:Grey Bergman Category:Events Category:Brandt Felman Category:Sven Felman Category:Dagny Felman Category:Kari Felman